LSAT 101

Class Location: Anywhere with an Internet connection.

Description:  This class will go over the LSAT exam.

Prerequisites:  Willingness to learn.

Required Text:  None.

Objective: Score high on the LSAT!

The LSAT is a standardized test required when applying to most law schools in the U.S. and Canada. All ABA-approved law schools, as well as many non-ABA-approved law schools and most Canadian law schools, require applicants to take the test as part of the admissions process and use the scores as one of the key factors in judging applicants. The test takes about half a day, and you can choose one of four dates annually to take the test at approved centers around the world.

The LSAT includes five 35-minute sections, all of which are multiple choice. Four of the five count toward your score, while the fifth is ordinarily used to test new questions or formats and goes unscored. The graded sections include one reading comprehension section, one analytical reasoning section, and two logical reasoning sections. The unscored section can appear at any point in the exam, so you won’t know which it is. At the end of the test, you must complete a 35-minute writing sample. You don’t get a score for the writing sample, but a copy goes to all the schools that receive your test scores.

The purpose of the LSAT is to measure the skills you will need for law school. Rather than testing what you already know, it tries to measure how well you’ll respond to the kind of training you’ll receive during your law school studies. Since there’s no standard pre-law curriculum, the test cannot assume common knowledge among law school applicants. The LSAT therefore tries to measure your reasoning, logic, and analytical skills. The skills and abilities the LSAT tests include accurately reading and understanding complicated tasks and applying insight to them; organizing and managing information and making logical inferences from that information; thinking critically and objectively; distinguishing fact from opinion; and analyzing and evaluating other people’s arguments and reasoning. It also tests your ability to work under pressure and how well you adapt to new and unusual circumstances.

You’ll receive an overall score between 120 and 180 for the four graded sections. Your score is based solely on the number of correct answers. You’re not penalized for incorrect answers, so you have no reason to ever leave a question blank. The questions are not arranged in any order of difficulty. Don’t assume that subsequent questions will be more difficult than the previous ones. In addition, each answer has the same amount of weight in your score, regardless of the difficulty of the question. You don’t get more credit for the more difficult questions. This is important to remember when trying to manage your time. The LSAT is designed to purposely make you hurry, and it’s common to run out of time before completing each section. You’ll often have to guess at several questions just to finish in time. Therefore, you’re better off making sure you answer the easier questions correctly than spending a disproportionate amount of time on the harder questions, as you’ll receive the same points for each correct answer, regardless of how easy or hard the question is.